RCMP relying on discretion, honesty during grace period
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 05/01) - Gun owners without a valid firearms acquisition certificate who have not yet applied for a firearms licence are now breaking the law.
The new firearms law requires gun owners to have a licence or a valid FAC by Jan. 1, 2001, but because of a backlog of applications the federal government introduced a six-month grace period.
Only those whose licence applications are post-marked Dec. 31, 2000 or earlier are eligible for the grace period.
RCMP Staff Sergeant Dave Grundy said there will be no push on to weed out those who missed the deadline, though regular checks will continue.
"Our patrols to check caribou hunters, those are ongoing all the time," said Grundy.
Officers will be relying largely on their own discretion and the honesty of gun owners who they check during the grace period, Grundy said.
He added officers can check claims that firearms licence applications have been submitted with the Miramichi, N.B. office responsible for processing applications.
But the Yellowknife Shooting Club's president said that will be difficult because of a the huge backlog of applications that gave rise to the grace period.
"They can only check it if they've opened a piece of mail and recorded it," said Barry Taylor.
Most of the 250 members in the club view the new gun law as "the greatest fuddle-duddle bureaucratic mess in history," Taylor said.
Penalties for not having a licence or valid FAC range from temporary seizure of firearms to a five-year jail sentence.
Many Yellowknife gun owners left meeting the new requirement to the last minute.
"The number of people coming into our office picked up, definitely, the first three weeks of December," said area firearms officer Paul Mounsey.
Those who have questions about the new law can contact the federal firearms office. Licence applications are available at the firearms office and postal outlets.
"If people haven't applied yet, they really need to as soon as possible," said Michelle Snyder, communications co-ordinator for the regional firearms office.
Snyder said the Miramichi office is processing applications 24 hours a day and has reduced the back log.
"People should have a temporary licence within a month of applying," Snyder said. The temporary licenses, introduced at the end of November, are valid until the June 30 end of the grace period. Without them, gun owners cannot purchase ammunition.
Those who wish to surrender their arms instead of complying with the new regulations can do so at either the RCMP station or the firearms office.
"Call first," Grundy advised those planning to bring firearms to the police station.
"We had some turned in over the last couple of months," he said. Asked how many, Grundy said, "They weren't lined up at the door, put it that way."
Surrendered firearms are destroyed.
The territorial government supported Alberta's unsuccessful court challenge of the new gun law.
